Early winter, when leaves turn yellow, is the best time to detect wild kiwifruit vines from the air.

This June when a fine weather window presents itself, KVH is planning to undertake aerial surveillance of the Te Puke gullies from No 4 Road to Maungarangi Road. The last time a similar survey was undertaken was in June 2021.

Information from the flight will be collated for analysis as part of an ongoing surveillance research project aimed at identifying wild kiwifruit vines through satellite imagery. The data will also be of huge help to the surveillance contractor to quickly find infestations and programme them for control.